Now is the time to create the future we want. We need to protect the things that are essential to our health and wellbeing, like clean water, a safe climate, and healthy ecosystems.
Now when someone mentions reusable diapers, invariably the one expression that everybody present in the room (including me 9 months ago!) gives is ewwww.
Why is that? Mostly owing to the fact that since they aren’t disposable, they have to be reused. And in order to do that, they need to be washed. And who in their right minds would want to wash their baby’s poop and pee all day long, right?
Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s so much easier than you ever imagined and that I can recommend it to everyone!
When most people think of cloth diapers, they think of a huge handkerchief that you put on with safety pins. But I’m talking about the new school of cloth diaper. New gorgeous fabrics, super absorbent pads, easy to put on and take off, simple to clean in your washing machine. Here are five reasons why I think everyone should at least give it a try!
1. It’s really easy!
Figuring out what diapers we wanted to use, how to use them, and how to wash them was overwhelming and intimidating at first. But there’s really zero need to get scared. The internet is full of conflicting information but I can tell you from my own experience: it’s really easy! You take a nappy, click the insert inside and put a liner on top so it will be easy to dispose the poop.
Once your little one is eating solid food you often can just dump the poop in the toilet and very little actually will remain on the diaper itself. And once you get the hang of disposing of the poop and tossing the diaper in your washing machine, you’ll be on cloth diaper cruise control.
When we go out, we use these adorable reusable wet bags. No more plastic waste! With two separate waterproof pouches, keeping the dirty & clean separate is a breeze. (And they’re great for your bikinis too!)
2. You Will Save A Lot Of Money
Your baby’s bum will need to be changed a staggering 5000-7000 times before they hit potty learning. Seriously. This adds up quickly, costing $2500-$3000. That is a lot of money to spend on something designed to catch poop.
3. Less Chemicals & Toxins
From an ecological point of view, how many of us are even aware of the hundreds of toxins we are dumping on our planet every day just in the name of convenience? Have you ever considered why disposable diapers are so crisp and white? The simple answer is bleach. Many disposable diaper companies use chlorine to whiten diaper material, the byproduct of which is dioxin.
Dioxin is one of the most toxic chemicals in the world, is listed by the EPA as highly carcinogenic and, obviously, can cause diaper rash. Charlie is 9 months and never had a diaper rash in her life and I’m pretty sure it’s because we only use natural fabrics!
From the best organic baby food to a eco-friendly nursery and green baby care products, more and more parents are being ‘eco-friendly’. But when it comes to diapers it seems totally acceptable to let our kids sit in a rough plastic bag full of chemicals 24 hours a day for 2 years. Isn’t that weird?
4. Reduce Waste
I understand the allure of disposable diapers. It’s less work for you. You don’t have to clean up the big messes your baby makes. You can toss it in your bin and forget about it. But, in actuality, it’s not that easy. Here are some numbers that should concern anyone, whether you’re a parent or not.
〰️ Newborn babies typically go through anywhere from 10-14 diapers a day.
〰️ A baby can go through an average of 2,200 diapers in the first year
〰️ Experts say that the average child will use about 7,000 diapers in their lifetime!
And when using disposable diapers, every single one of them ends up in a landfill. And those aren’t likely to break down for about 500 years. Which means your child will start out their life with a huge pile of garbage to their name.
〰️ An estimated 27.4 billion nappies are used each year in the US.
〰️ Canada throws out about 4 million nappies every day.
〰️ A staggering 3.75 million nappies are used each day in Australia and New Zealand.
〰️ And an estimated 3 billion nappies are thrown away every year in the UK.
Compare that to using the same twenty cloth diapers over and over again and the choice should be easy.
5. They Look Great
So many of our guests and friends complimented us on Charlie’s cute ‘pants’. When we told them that they are actually not pants but diapers they couldn’t believe it. Charlie’s diapers are like little pieces of art and most of the time she is dressed in a diaper only.
Just Give It A Try
If you give reusable diapers a try for any of the above reasons, I truly believe that in a short time, you too will discover that they are easy to use. You will find out that they don’t involve origami-like folding to use or a degree in chemical engineering to launder. And every time you change a diaper you have this little moment of happiness where you realize that you are doing something to better our world.
If you need any help or advice, don’t hesitate to send me a message. I’m more than happy to help and guide you. And remember, it’s always the small things that make the biggest changes.
p.s. Feel free to share and tag your friends! It was because of reading a post like this, I got inspired to give it a go and I hope my post will inspire others to do the same.
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